How to find a good auto shed?

[joebongo]

I need a sub 2k shed for the missus and also for me for a little while when I sell my current beast and look for another.

I see all these nice looking SOTW articles but I wonder in real life how do you go about finding a top-notch shed that doesn't just look ok and has a failing gearbox or CHG or some other high priced calamity round the corner?

[Big Rod]

joebongo said:

finding a top-notch shed that doesn't just look ok and has a failing gearbox or CHG or some other high priced calamity round the corner?

Ya pays yer money an' ya takes yer chance.

I bought a sports car for £2k a few months ago and I've ploughed at least that much into it since then fixing all the bits that broke since I bought it.

On the other hand I pootled around in a real sh!tter of a Volvo since January and it never broke once till the MOT ran out 6 weeks ago and that cost me £400.

I've now got a Renner Laguns that ran me £600 and the only thing wrong with that is a broken tailgate lock with no sign of anything catastrophic failing soon.

[bigdods]

IME the only way is to have a good knowledge of the car you are looking at. Below 2k you need to know what the common problems are with that type of car and then find one that either doesnt have that problem or where its been fixed.

for example, i love my Omegas. Dirt cheap. You need to check the HBV, cam covers and plug wells for oil. Cam belt must be changed at 40k miles, water pump every 80k miles. Coolant must be red not any other colour. Check coolant header for oil as this shows a failing oil cooler. Check inner tyre wear, odd wear indicated either geo out or failed wishbones. Check all the springs on the shocks, rears can break at the bottom etc. etc. etc.

This is the kind of thing you need to know for whatever you are buying

The simplest solution is to find a forum where the owners hang out and grab their buyers guide, then use it as a checklist.

ETA: and dont worry so much about mileage. My current omega 3.0 Elite is now 11 years old with 150k miles on and still running fine and everything still works.

Edited by bigdods on Friday 24th September 15:21

[chrisispringles]

A Volvo 850 would be a good bet. My dad bought an absolutely mint 2l 20v one earlier this year for £975 and so far it has cost us a thermostat. Before that he had a T5 for about 10 years and, apart from the turbo needing replacing every 80k, splitting it's boost bias pipe, never put a foot wrong either and needing a clutch release bearing. Very reliable old things and they are comfy and practical as well.

[ironictwist]

LS400. That'll do it.

[Garlick]

I bought my auto E220 Merc for £1800, since then I have spent £0 on repairs (touches wood).

The advert was concise, the service history was good and the overall condition backed that up. The sheddier cars are apparent the moment you arrive to view.

Any excuse to post a picture....

[joebongo]

Garlick said:

I bought my auto E220 Merc for £1800, since then I have spent £0 on repairs (touches wood).

The advert was concise, the service history was good and the overall condition backed that up. The sheddier cars are apparent the moment you arrive to view.

Any excuse to post a picture....

Now that looks nice. I had a 220E W124 and sorely miss it.

Too big for the missus though but it would be a good stepping stone for me. Did they make the them with air con and cruise? Mine didn't but it was pov spec.

[Garlick]

joebongo said:

Now that looks nice. I had a 220E W124 and sorely miss it.

Too big for the missus though but it would be a good stepping stone for me. Did they make the them with air con and cruise? Mine didn't but it was pov spec.

IIRC, this era of W124 only had cruise as an option on the 6 cylinder cars (E280, E320 and E300D) Air was available on all models, but wasn't too common (I used to sell them from 94-96) unless the car was a fully specced. Some are out there though, and it was a popular retro-fit.

I'm very happy with mine, it's light on equipment but beautiful to drive.

[rallycross]

I think its a lot to do with buying wisely, preferably from an owner who has looked after it and can show you evidence of how they have maintained it - ie buy privately from someone who has owned the car for some time and you can make a safe bet that its a genuine example.

[redtwin]

ironictwist said:

LS400. That'll do it.

Bought one for £750, ran it for a year and then sold it for £400. The only thing that went wrong was a broken rear spring, but a new one was less than £40ish from a local motor factor. I bought it through auto trader and sold it on Ebay on a 99p/ no reserve auction.

I did a basic service (oil and filters), fit new front discs and pads and reserved myself to scrapping it if anything major went wrong. It was touch and go for a moment when the rear spring broke!.

At this end of the market you are bordering on bangernomics, so only "bet" what you can afford to lose should the thing come apart at the seams.